Nets guard Ben Simmons will remain sidelined for at least a little while longer due to a nerve impingement in the lower left side of his back, according to statements from the team and agent Bernie Lee (Twitter links via Brian Lewis of The New York Post).
As Lewis observes (via Twitter), Simmons required surgery in 2022 on multiple herniated disks on the right side of his back, then dealt with a nerve impingement. However, this issue is affecting the other side of his back and isn’t nearly as severe, Lee says. The club indicated an update on Simmons’ status will be provided in a week.
“He’s not experiencing anything similar to what he’s gone through in the past,” Lee said of his client, per Lewis (Twitter links). “And this is something that the expectation is that with the proper kind of rehab he’ll be able to resume his season in a short period of time without any issue.
“It definitely should be on the shorter side of things. It’s really a day-to-day kind of evaluation situation. What has to happen is the area has to calm down. Once it calms down there’s a period of reactivity that’s built into things.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Having acquired a handful of draft assets in their James Harden trade, how are the Sixers looking to use those assets on the trade market? President of basketball operations Daryl Morey spoke in a recent appearance on The Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast about what type of player the team would like to add. “I would say first off, they need to be pretty solid on both ends,” Morey said, per Marc Stein at Substack. “As you get into the playoffs, it gets very hard for your top guys to be elite one way. … The other thing would be we probably need them to have a bit of play-making — sort of connector, ball-movement aspects. We are a little short on that and it becomes more important in the playoffs as well.” As Stein notes, it’s perhaps no surprise, based on that description, that Raptors forward OG Anunoby “keeps coming up” as a potential 76ers target.
- Rumors surfaced during his time with the Knicks that Kristaps Porzingis would be unhappy if he wasn’t treated as the “face of the franchise,” but the Celtics big man is satisfied with being a secondary option in Boston and says he was never focused on being the go-to guy. “Maybe it was falsely pushed,” Porzingis said of the old narrative, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I never felt that way because today’s league is, other than [Nikola] Jokic and [Joel] Embiid, it’s a guard league. It’s mostly guards and small forwards. So I knew that if I want to win, you’re going to have to play with somebody… It was never an issue for me.”
- Raptors center Jakob Poeltl spoke to Oren Weisfeld of Yahoo Sports Canada about his first stint in Toronto, the experience of watching the team win a title without him in 2019, and what it’s been like to rejoin the franchise several years later.
“I never felt that way because today’s league is, other than [Nikola] Jokic and [Joel] Embiid, it’s a guard league. It’s mostly guards and small forwards. So I knew that if I want to win, you’re going to have to play with somebody…
Wembanyama, Chet, Smith, Sengun, Duren, Giannis, KAT, Markkanen, AD, Allen, Mobley must I GO ON ……. Clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s still talking about himself. As if he’s the guy. It’s a Freaking Team Game. You will always have to play with somebody. Dumbest Shhh I’ve heard. Still hasn’t learned. You wonder why Mavs gave you away ???????
You sound like a butter ex. Porziņģis said he that as a PF/C he never expected to be the go to guy. Out of all those guys you named there might be two of them that are their team’s go to guys, those guys being Giannis and maybe Wemby. Markannen is the go to guy but plays both forward spots but starts at SF. Minnesota seems to be favoring Edwards over KAT going forward. Davis is the second option. The rest aren’t their teams top guys. Clearly he’s not the one that doesn’t know what he talking about.
Sounds like you’re falsely interpreting his comment on purpose. Also, of the guys you listed, 3 are the main guy on their team: Wemby, Giannis (who is basically a SF, and Markannen (by default).
The truth is that story is right (KP). All that went to his head. He didn’t understand how long NYC was waiting for a true star. He listened to Mello. And didn’t like how he was being pushed out. Then he played hardball with Knicks for his contract. Couldn’t wait to get rid of him. Yeah another Mello is what we needed, Bye. Still doesn’t get it ……
KP6 was mostly a victim of circumstances with the NYK. An aloof and attenuated FO (Jackson) followed by a completely inept one (Stooges), along with a misfit roster, having Melo (a cancer) as a teammate and a brother (another cancer) looking for relevance.
Of course he could have handled things better, but if he did that as a teenager from Latvia dropped into this web of agendas having little to do with basketball, I would have counted it as a small miracle. To be clear, there were NO issues when he was playing, and he was both a fan favorite and well liked by his teammates. Only after he got hurt, and it became about PR, was he overwhelmed. If he had come in with the current FO and coaching staff, then I suspect things would have been very different. Although the continuous injuries for most of his subsequent career would still have been an issue.
KP got a big head cause NY was hyped about him. What he didn’t get. Is hype is not, we believe you can play. He totally took sides with Mello. And felt he could flex. Well he learned the hard way. And apparently didn’t learn in Dallas. Cause he didn’t want to let Luka run it. And now he talks about. If I wanted to win. He uses I …….
Well his teams Dallas didn’t win. He’s still talking like it’s about him. He’s played well. Cause Celts have gone out of their way to make him fit. And they should. He knows he’s back in the East. So he better watch what he says. We are the intellect on NBA fans. He used guards and SF. You wonder Why …. He’s got two of best young ones. He’s fake to me always was. When he tried to hold up Knicks. I lost all respect for him. People outside NY don’t know or get it. When it comes to KP.
KP did follow Melo down a dark road, and he should have been made to own that more than he was. But it was a single instance, and didn’t need to begin a strained relationship with the FO. That’s on Jackson. KP was a 20 year old kid from Latvia trying to find his way within the NBA community and culture. Melo was a made man in the NBA community. When Melo purported to take KP under his wing as his successor, of course Melo was going to have outsized influence with KP. If Jackson was half as wise as he always telling people, or even a mature adult, he would have sat KP down, looked him the eye and made him own his mistake – and then moved forward. Instead, Jackson, as usual, made it all about him, and instead of talking with KP, chose to impose his standard passive-aggressive mind games on him. He let it fester, and seemed to enjoy it.
In the Mills era, misinformation was the rule. Mills was a congenital liar, and the other two went along with the nonsense. KP6 NEVER, not once, indicated that he wanted to be the man or anything like it. It’s not a Euro thing. With the Mills FO, he wanted a max extension (so I’m sure he and his brother communicated that they thought he was a star, like with any other player seeking max), and wanted to know where he stood (again, like any other young player). Mills wouldn’t commit. OK, his call, but he was never clear or consistent about it with KP. He basically told KP it was mostly because of “cap space”; he told reporters he didn’t know whether KP was a max level player; and he told Dolan that he was trying to protect the team from having an injured max player. Obviously, KP heard about all of it.
If, in this situation, you lost all respect for a kid in his early 20’s, so be it. FWIW, I lost all respect for Jackson over this, at least as an executive and a man. Everyone makes mistakes, but mistakes born of immaturity wear better on 20 year olds. Mills was hired to his first basketball position by Isiah, so he isn’t worth discussing. If Leon Rose were here during either FO tenure, this nonsense doesn’t happen, and that’s a fact.
KP is an overrated bum. He’s looking good cause he’s playing with two ALL NBA players, so defenses aren’t paying attention to him…for now. He will fizzle out by years end
Can someone explain why Marc Stein is getting credited with something Morey said on RTRS? I understand the link to Stein’s article, but quoting an article quoting another media group is weird. Give Spike Eskin and Mike Levin the credit.
We generally cite secondary sources when we wouldn’t have seen the primary source without them or (as in the case of many podcasts), when we’re using quotes they’ve transcribed. Both were the case here, so we linked to both the original podcast and Stein’s article.
No matter what KP says now or his history he seems to be happy & fitting in very well with the Celtics. I admit I always wondered what went wrong in New York.
If KP wants to win, the Celtics better get a better coach!
Ben Simmons isn’t worth the used toilet paper his body is made from. I’m sure he’s got time left on his contract but does he get anything above the minimum on the next one?
This is his third team. When he was suppose to be the guy on the first team. He overestimated himself. And his worth to the team. That’s what NY hype will do to you. He’s done nothing yet …..
Yes he has a chance to be a big part of this. That we’ll see at the end of the year. But two teams who needed a talented big. Both gave up on him. You’d think he’d get the message by now. Obviously the tacoclown hasn’t. KP might in Boston. Cause like NY they know their ball. So this can be redemption for him.
“I would say first off, they need to be pretty solid on both ends,” Morey said, per Marc Stein at Substack. “As you get into the playoffs, it gets very hard for your top guys to be elite one way. …
yet he did all he could to bring Harden to Philly. A 1way player …… I seriously wonder how these guys get these jobs. Harden was mostly a 1way player in Houston. Even in his mvp yrs.